Nothing Like Ice Cream to Get You Off Your Butt

Ben & Jerry's, long the touchstone for crunchy (literally) and lefty (figuratively) business practices, has long ago shed its small town Vermont roots and moved into the big time. Some critics like to claim that the company has lost its way, while others say they are just as good, if not better, than they have ever been. Releasing a new flavor, in what seems like, every few weeks, Ben & Jerry (in name only) have carved out somewhat of an Ice Cream empire (a benevolent empire to be certain).

Their benevolence is extending into a partnership of sorts with Target (another company that enjoys a great deal of brand loyalty) to create two new ice cream flavors with an emphasis on volunteerism. Brownie Chew Gooder and Berry Voluntary (not all that subtle, I know) are the latest flavors to hit the freezers (exclusively Target freezers). The Brownie Chew Gooder is seemingly a vanilla caramel ice cream with fudge brownie pieces, while the Berry Voluntary is a raspberry cheesecake ice cream with white chocolate chunks (for the record, I have yet to sample either one of these new flavors), both of which seem like fairly standard fare for Ben & Jerry's.

However, the catch (or the appeal, I should say) is that both of these flavors are part of a "Scoop it Forward" campaign that is engineered to encourage volunteerism. Hungry ice cream lovers are encouraged to visit a special website to volunteer. After you register for a volunteer activity, and then forwarding the opportunity to five friends (I guess this is the "scoop it forward" part), you and your friends will be rewarded with a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (to be had at your local Target). No word on whether you, as a potential do-gooder, would actually need to follow through with your voluntary commitments, but let's hope that ice cream (the lure or ultimate consumption) would work as the great motivator.

Ben & Jerry's Brownie Chew Gooder and Berry Voluntary are available for purchase at Target (if you don't care to volunteer for your ice cream) and sold for $3.99 a pint.

Travel down the grocery aisles with Eric as he keeps an eager, but skeptical, eye on the merchandise and foodstuff that fill the grocery shelves. Learn what's hot, what's not, and what's just plain weird, as he obsessively reads labels, admires packaging, dismisses misleading marketing ploys, and takes you along for some serious yet fun food shopping.
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